Comment on Terraform Industries actually created synthetic methane from sunlight, water, and air
poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 days agoPretty much anything one can think off because this methane production from normal air is so incredibly inefficient.
The most obvious alternative would be to use the abundant nitrogen from the air and produce ammonia with it, which is both an energy storage and an important precursor for artificial fertilizer production.
photon_echo@slrpnk.net 2 days ago
What it looks like this company is building would be partially compatible with that approach.
For the Haber-Bosch process needs input H2 (plus the atmospheric Nitrogen). 33% of what this company is building is an electrolyser. Further, the Sabatier reactor they’re using (another 33% of their process) could possibly be swapped out for a Haber-Bosch reactor.
I don’t know enough about the environmental conditions needed for handling ammonia vs methane to understand if there are any “gotchas” to creating ammonia in situ.
poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 days ago
That’s why I mentioned it as the process is similar but much more efficient.
The problem with ammonia is mainly that it is poisinous to handle (and very smelly) and burning it in engines without exhaust scrubbing releases nitric-oxides that caused the famous “sour rain” issues of the 1980s, but both are relatively minor technical issues.